Moser Baer to institute largest solar farm

MUMBAI: Moser Baer Photo Voltaic (MBPV), a wholly owned subsidiary of Moser Baer India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Rajasthan for setting up of a large solar power project in the state with an estimated generation capacity of 1 – 5 MW. The MoU was signed on 30 November at the Resurgent Rajasthan summit at Jaipur between MBPV and Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC).

The project will be the largest grid-connected solar farm in India and entail an investment of around $ 25 million (Rs 100 crores) at $ 4.5 million per MW. The SAARC region has large demand supply imbalances in energy generation capacities, with an increasing need to explore alternate and efficient energy sources. This offers a significant potential to Solar Photo Voltaic as an efficient energy option in the region.

MBPV CEO Ravi Khanna said, “MBPV aims to redefine the paradigms of solar power generation through its world class manufacturing and multi technology capabilities and demonstrate a commercially viable, grid-connected PV energy system in India through this project. This project is a pioneering initiative in that direction and we believe that the SAARC region provides huge opportunity for such large sized projects.”

Moser Baer is also evaluating various options for setting up large sized solar farms across the SAARC region with strategic tie ups with some of the leading global solar PV Companies and clean energy funds.

Moser Baer Photo Voltaic plans to emerge as a leading technology driven PV equipment manufacturer in the world by implementing a capacity of 500 MW by FY10 through a mix of technologies in the crystalline silicon, concentrator and thin film domain.

The company’s photovoltaic equipment manufacturing capacities for crystalline silicon, concentrator and thin film technologies are coming up in an SEZ in Greater Noida.

Rajasthan is on course to become self sufficient in power by 2008. Besides setting up new power projects in the state sector, the government is also promoting private investment in power generation. The state already has an installed capacity of 5,500 MW of power and will add 4500 MW by 2011-12 through state sector projects of 1500 MW, private sector projects of 1500 MW and central sector projects of 1500 MW. Over 520 MW of non-conventional power is already being generated by private units in the state.